Behind the interview with Vince Passione

Vince, is the founder & CEO of Lendkey, which is a white label lender, specializing in student loans.

From 2003 until 2006 he was the President/COO at DealerTrack. DealerTrack, created connections between the auto dealerships and thousands of lenders nationwide. This never existed, prior to DealerTrack, auto lending was limited to car loans provided by the car manufactures. If consumers wanted to use their own bank or credit union, they had to physical go to a branch and get a check.

Why this interview?

Student loans are in high demand, but post 2007 were hard to get outside of government agencies such as Sallie Mae. From his experience at DealerTrack, Vince recognized this problem and built LendKey in 2008 to solve it. LendKey has connected an ecosystem of local lenders with students who need loans. Lendkey can manage the student loan process, from application to funding and has raised over $44 million to date to fund this opportunity.

This is a great lesson in identifying a problem, connecting the dots and creating a venture to solve that problem.

In 2010, the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) had vast implications in student lending. Lendkey, was less than two years old during that time and was a fragile moment in its history. Yet, Lendkey turned regulatory burdens into an opportunity to strengthen internal compliance processes. Today, regardless of the regulatory environment, Lendkey can navigate it and thrive.

About me:

I’m the host of the twice-weekly “Bank On It” podcast recorded onsite at offices of Carpenter Group, a creative services agency focused on the financial services industry. I’m a fintech, VC and financial services industry enthusiast and connector. I’m in the center of the fintech ecosystem, keeping current with the ever-innovating industry.